LA COCINA Trailer (2024) Rooney Mara

LA COCINA Trailer (2024) Rooney Mara

LA COCINA Trailer (2024) Rooney Mara
© 2024 - Picturehouse

"Where is the goddamn food?" We're all wondering! Picturehouse in the UK has revealed an official trailer for La Cocina, a B&W kitchen drama from Mexican filmmaker Alonso Ruizpalacios. This premiered at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival earlier this year to mostly negative reviews (here's mine) due to being too chaotic and obnoxious. In the heart of a bustling Times Square kitchen, dreams and desperation collide as the staff each chase the elusive American dream. There's an ensemble of characters involved in various arguments. Featuring an array of outstanding performances led by Raul Briones and Rooney Mara, La Cocina is a "gripping, exhilarating and truly cinematic new film" from acclaimed director Alonso Ruizpalacios. The film takes place at a random non-existent restaurant following the kitchen and staff around as they deal with all kinds of chaos, showing what it's like to be behind-the-scenes in a restaurant like this. The cast also includes Anna Diaz, Motell Foster, Oded Fehr, and Spenser Granese. Check out this trailer for a closer look.

Here's the official UK trailer (+ two posters) for Alonso Ruizpalacios's La Cocina, direct from YouTube:

And here is the same trailer for the US release of Alonso Ruizpalacios's La Cocina, also from YouTube:

La Cocina Poster

La Cocina Poster

Amidst the lunch rush of a frantic Manhattan restaurant, a series of events threaten to bring the kitchen to a crashing halt. While orders flood in and pressure mounts to boiling point, the passionate relationship between chef Pedro (Raúl Briones) and waitress Julia Rooney Mara) is starting to fray. But when missing money and shocking revelations cause things to spiral out of control, it’s not long before one of New York’s busiest kitchens is on the verge of imploding. La Cocina is both written and directed by Mexican filmmaker Alonso Ruizpalacios, director of the films Gueros, Museo, and A Cop Movie previously, plus episodes of "Narcos: Mexico" and "Outer Range" recently. Adapted from Arnold Wesker's play "The Kitchen". Produced by Gerardo Gatica, Lauren Mann, Ivan Orlic, and Ramiro Ruiz. This initially premiered at the 2024 Berlin Film Festival earlier this year. Picturehouse debuts La Cocina in UK cinemas starting on December 27th, 2024 at the end of this year. No US release is set yet - stay tuned. For more info, visit the film's official site.
Written and directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios, La Cocina is adapted from the 1957 play 'The Kitchen' by Arnold Wesker. The film stars Rooney Mara as Julia, a pregnant waitress at a manic New York restaurant. When cash disappears from the register, the blame is levelled at Julia's lover and the father of her child, Pedro (Raúl Briones), an undocumented immigrant employed as a cook.

La Cocina is in UK cinemas from December 26th.
If you don’t already know the name Alonso Ruizpalacios, “La Cocina” will likely put him on your radar. An acclaimed Mexican filmmaker known for critically acclaimed and awarded films like “Güeros” (2014), “Museum “(2018), and “A Cop Movie”(2021), Ruizpalacios has been building himself up as an artful indie auteur. And over the years, he’s also been catching Hollywood’s eye, tapped to do TV work on excellent shows which he elevated like “Outer Range,” “Narcos Mexico,” and the upcoming second and final season of “Andor.”

READ MORE: 2024 Fall Film Preview: 50 Movies To Watch

And with “The Bear” becoming such a huge hit for FX, Ruizpalacios has had some perfect timing with releasing his own behind-the-scenes kitchen drama shot in a sumptuous and dreamy black and white. The film looks at the chaotic life of a busy restaurant in Manhattan, but it’s really about the people behind the scenes: immigrant and dreamers hoping for a better life.

The film stars Raúl Briones, Rooney Mara, Anna Diaz, Motell Foster, Oded Fehr, and Eduardo Olmos.

Here’s the official synopsis:

It’s the lunch rush at The Grill in Manhattan, and money has gone missing from the till. All the undocumented cooks are being investigated, and Pedro (Briones) is the prime suspect. He’s a dreamer and a troublemaker, and in love with Julia (Mara), an American waitress who cannot commit to a relationship. Rashid, The Grill´s owner, has promised to help Pedro with his papers so he can “become legal”. But a shocking revelation about Julia compels Pedro to spiral into an act that will stop the production line of one of the city’s busiest kitchens once and for all.

La Cocina is a tragic and comic tribute to the invisible people who keep our restaurants running and our stomachs full, whilst chasing a perhaps unreachable version of the American dream.

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Written and directed by Ruizpalacios, based on the play “The Kitchen” by Arnold Weske, “La Cocina” opens October 25 at the Angelika in New York and November 1 at the Laemmle Monica, Los Angeles, followed by a national theatrical release. Watch the first trailer below.

Alonso RuizpalaciosLa CocinaRooney Mara
Based on the 1957 stage play, ‘The Kitchen’ by Arnold Wesker, ‘La Cocina’ is a kitchen drama set in one of the busiest restaurant in Manhattan, New York. The film stars Raúl Briones and two-time Oscar-nominated actress Rooney Mara in its leading role.

‘La Cocina’ had its world premiere in competition at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, and is also set to screen at the 68th BFI London Film Festival.

Starring the film alongside Mara and Briones are Anna Diaz, Motell Foster, Oded Fehr, Eduardo Olmos.

Release Date
Directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios, ‘La Cocina’ opens in Angelika, NY on October 25, 2024 and in Laemmle Monica, LA on November 1, 2024 before expanding to a national release.

Synopsis
It’s the lunch rush at The Grill in Manhattan, and money has gone missing from the till. All the undocumented cooks are being investigated, and Pedro (Briones) is the prime suspect. He’s a dreamer and a troublemaker, and in love with Julia (Mara), an American waitress who cannot commit to a relationship. Rashid, The Grill´s owner, has promised to help Pedro with his papers so he can “become legal”. But a shocking revelation about Julia compels Pedro to spiral into an act that will stop the production line of one of the city’s busiest kitchens once and for all.

La Cocina is a tragic and comic tribute to the invisible people who keep our restaurants running and our stomachs full, whilst chasing a perhaps unreachable version of the American dream.

Reviews
Robert Daniels in a RogerEbert.com review praised the film, writing, “La Cocina,” Mexican writer/director Alonzo Ruizpalacios’ searing black and white slice of nightmare, is a monumental work of righteous anger.”

Katie Luxford in a Next Best Picture review gave the film a score of 9/10, writing, “Ruizpalacios’ direction transforms the intensity of this kitchen into something beautifully heartbreaking that implores audiences to examine the undermining of artistry in the modern world all for the sake of profit.”

Official Trailer
Watch the official trailer for ‘La Cocina.’
Variety can share an exclusive clip of Rooney Mara in “La Cocina,” from writer and director Alonso Ruizpalacios. The film will make its world premiere in competition at the Berlin Film Festival, which runs Feb. 15-25.Raúl Briones, Anna Diaz, Motell Foster, Oded Fehr and Eduardo Olmos star alongside Mara, who was last seen in Sarah Polley’s “Women Talking.”

The drama is set in a busy Manhattan restaurant. During lunch rush, money goes missing from the register. All the undocumented cooks are investigated, with Pedro (Briones) the prime suspect. He’s a dreamer and a troublemaker, and in love with Julia (Mara), an American waitress who cannot commit to a relationship. While the restuarant’s owner promises to help Pedro with his immigration papaers, a shocking revelation about Julia compels Pedro to spiral into an act that will stop the cooking in one of the city’s busiest kitchens once and for all.

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“I started daydreaming about this film when I worked as a dishwasher and a waiter at the Rainforest Cafe in downtown London during my student days,” said Ruizpalacios in a statement. “Which was also when I first read Arnold Wesker’s play ‘The Kitchen,’ on which the script for this film is loosely based. Reading the play at the same time that I was working in an industrial kitchen made the experience much more interesting (and the work-days bearable). I was struck by the complex caste system that still exists in kitchens, and that are an essential part of what keeps them functioning. As with the crew in a ship, hierarchy is not something that is taken lightly behind those swinging restaurant doors.”

Mexico’s Briones won the supporting actor Ariel Award for “Asfixia” (2019) and an Ariel best actor trophy for “A Cop Movie” (2021), which was directed by Ruizpalacios.

“La Cocina” was produced by Ramiro Ruiz, Gerardo Gatica, Ruizpalacios, Lauren Mann and Ivan Orlic. Fifth Season and WME are handling North American sales; Hanway has international.

Read More About:
Berlin Film Festival, La Cocina, Rooney Mara
“La Cocina,” starring Rooney Mara and Raúl Briones, gets its U.S. release Oct. 25 at the Angelika Film Center in New York, and Nov. 1 at L.A.’s Laemmle Monica. Willa is handling U.S. distribution. The drama will then get a rollout in the top 10 American markets. HanWay handles international sales.

Directed and written by Alonso Ruizpalacios, “La Cocina” stars Briones as Pedro, an undocumented cook in a busy midtown Manhattan restaurant in love with server Julia (Mara), who is pregnant with his child. Tension builds and then erupts when it’s discovered that money has been stolen from the cash register, and blame falls on Pedro. But who really stole the money?

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Mexican filmmaker Ruizpalacios adapts “The Kitchen,” a 1957 play by Arnold Wesker, into a drama about social and financial inequalities in modern-day America. It also gives the anonymous workers who drive the service economy a human face, and delivers an explosive climax. Reviews from the Berlinale, where is premiered in competition, praised Ruizpalacios’ drama.

Popular on Variety
For Ruizpalacios, whose feature debut, “Güeros,” won the best first feature award at the Berlinale nearly 10 years ago, “La Cocina” is basically an anti-food-porn movie. “I wanted to show the other side of the food industry where expediency is more important than the quality of the food. It’s a metaphor for corporate capitalism,” he told Variety in February.

“Work is the other main theme: the struggle for the survival of the soul amidst the unstoppable machinery of global capitalism. As Pedro, the film’s protagonist puts it, when asked to retell his dream: ‘You can’t dream in a kitchen.’”

Production and distribution shingle Willa, headed by founder and CEO Elizabeth Woodward, focuses on socially important films. Previous Willa releases include “Another Body” (2023, Emmy Nominee, SXSW Special Jury Award and co-distributed with Utopia), “You Resemble Me” (2021, Venice Film Festival, executive produced by Spike Lee, Spike Jonze, Alma Har’el, Riz Ahmed and Claire Denis).

“The ability to work with the team at Willa is a filmmaker’s dream, knowing they will take such incredible care of the movie. The intimacy and catered vision they have towards distribution and the partnership with them is one we look forward to” said Ruizpalacios.

“We are thrilled to partner with Willa to distribute such a ravenous film. Having worked with every distributor across hundreds of films it’s exhilarating to see an innovative and consumer forward model built for tomorrow” said co-CEO Graham Taylor of production shingle Fifth Season.

“Our mission at Willa is to increase the audience reach and impact of socially important films” said Woodward. “We harness the power of impact campaigns, collaborate closely with filmmakers, and champion innovative and experimental distribution models. We are thrilled to bring ‘La Cocina’ to audiences this fall. Visionary director Alonso Ruizpalacios has created a bold, original love story, a tour-de-force not to be missed.”

The film be released on digital platforms in early 2025, and is looking to play fall festivals for an awards season push.

Read More About:
La Cocina, Rooney Mara, Willa
Mexican director Alonso Ruizpalacios has had a winning record coming to the Berlin Film Festival since 2013, when his film Gueros took the Best First Feature prize. Five years later he was back with his second, the sensational museum-heist film Museo, and deservedly won the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay. His third, A Cop Movie, which plays with the traditional docu form by using actors, won Best Documentary at Mexico’s Golden Ariel Awards.

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Ruizpalacios belongs in the same league as iconic current Mexican directors Guillermo del Toro, Alfonso Cuarón and particularly Alejandro González Iñárritu, whose cinematic style seems closest to what Ruizpalacios has been doing. His latest trip to Berlin, La Cocina, reinforces the thrilling talent of this singular filmmaker who for the first time has shot a film using both Spanish and English. It features American star Rooney Mara as well as a stunning, uninhibited, shoot-for-the-stars turn from Raul Briones, who worked with Ruizpalacios in A Cop Movie and took the Ariel for Supporting Actor. Here, he goes for broke.

Ruizpalacios based his screenplay rather loosely on Arnold Wesker’s 1957 play and 1961 British movie The Kitchen, both of which focused on the employees of a restaurant as they go about a typical morning on the job. He maintains the setting and the idea but infuses more of his own background of working in a London restaurant (a time where he first saw the play) and merging the American Dream of immigrants seeking a better life finding work in NYC’s tourist-trap eatery The Grill because they don’t need papers and can get good tips. But as far as food is concerned, this is no Babette’s Feast or The Taste of Things. The grub served up looks bad, and it clearly is, and the kitchen here mostly resembles a melting pot of immigrants, largely, and their own stories and interactions with one another and their bosses and the task of just trying to make a living in a country not their own.

Watch on Deadline
To put it mildly, La Cocina is like The Bear on steroids, a black-and-white pressure cooker that builds to a fierce and explosive finale. In the divisions between staff and management, the mix of American and non-American customers, this is meant to show us not just what The Grill is like on a typical day but also the world itself. With its focus on these immigrants and their plight, it becomes a timely and powerful portrait of where we are today — a far cry, however, from another brilliant film that focused on similar dreams, Elia Kazan’s 1963 America America.

As it opens, we see the shadowy B&W images of an emergence past the Statue of Liberty into New York City. We meet Estela (Anna Diaz), a young woman coming to the U.S. with only the name of a relative, Pedro (Brione), who works at the large restaurant and can help her get a job, despite the fact she has no papers or references. Her interview with a manager (Eduardo Olmos) is slippery, but she gets the job. Standards are not exactly high in this place.

Showing him photographic evidence she has of their family ties and his younger days, Estela also connects with Pedro. The focus does not stay on her, though, and the scenario shifts to the gregarious, larger-than-life dreamer Pedro and others, most notably American waitress Julia (Mara), whom Estela meets in the locker room and immediately notices she is pregnant. A mother already, Julia does not want to keep the baby and is at odds with Pedro, the father, who is in love with her even as she resists commitment. Theirs becomes the key relationship played out here, a complicated sexual one, that grows more complex as Julia seeks an abortion.

Conflict also rears it head with a missing $800+ and suspicions of which employee might have stolen it, as well as Pedro’s relations with the intense (to say the least) chef (Lee R. Sellars), who will play a key role as it all becomes too much for Pedro. The pressure of the job becomes clear with a remarkable and stunningly choreographed scene as we see the frenetic pace of just what goes on at rush hour in this restaurant. It appears to be a single 12 minute-plus tracking shot in and out of all areas as the staff is on overdrive, a dazzling showcase for the talents of director of photography Juan Pablo Ramirez, shooting in vivid B&W but putting it all on the line in this sequence. It is followed by a much quieter moment out in the back street as Pedro and some other workers talk about their hopes and dreams in coming to the U.S. for a better life, particularly a moving monologue by a Black employee (a superb Motell Foster).

For Mara, this role is a nice change of pace, and she is excellent, as is the entire cast that also includes Oded Fehr as Rashid, the big boss, who had promised to help Pedro become legal.

La Cocina is a ride, an unforgettable and gripping look inside not just a restaurant kitchen but the complicated lives of the invisible people who provide its heartbeat. It had its world premiere tonight in competition at the Berlin Film Festival and is looking for American distribution.

Title: La Cocina
Festival: Berlin (Berlinale Special Gala)
Director-screenwriter: Alonso Ruizpalacios
Cast: Raul Briones, Rooney Mara, Anna Diaz, Motell Foster, Oded Fehr, Eduardo Olmos, Laura Gomez
Running time: 2 hr 19 mins
Sales agent: Fifth Season and WME (North America); Hanway Films (international)

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Read More About:
Alonso Ruizpalacios
Berlin Film Festival
La Cocina
Raul Briones
Rooney Mara
La cocina

Promotional release poster
Directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios
Screenplay by Alonso Ruizpalacios
Based on The Kitchen
by Arnold Wesker
Produced by
Lauren Mann
Gerardo Gatica González
Ivan Orlic
Ramiro Ruiz
Starring
Raúl Briones Carmona
Rooney Mara
Anna Diaz
Motell Foster
Oded Fehr
Spenser Granese
Cinematography Juan Pablo Ramirez[1]
Production
companies
Fifth Season
Seine Pictures
Astrakan Film AB
Filmadora
Panorama Global[2]
Distributed by Willa (United States)
Release dates
February 16, 2024 (Berlinale)
October 25, 2024 (United States)
Running time 139 minutes[3]
Countries
United States
Mexico
Languages
Spanish
English
La cocina (Spanish for 'The Kitchen') is a 2024 drama film written and directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios. The film is based on the 1957 stage play The Kitchen by Arnold Wesker.[4]

The film stars Raúl Briones Carmona, Rooney Mara, Anna Diaz, Motell Foster, Oded Fehr, Eduardo Olmos and Spenser Granese.

It had its world premiere at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival on February 16, 2024, and is scheduled to be released in the United States on October 25, 2024, by Willa.

Premise
Set at a restaurant in Manhattan, New York.[5]

Cast
Raúl Briones Carmona as Pedro
Rooney Mara as Julia
Anna Diaz as Estela
Eduardo Olmos as Luis
Motell Foster as Nonz
Oded Fehr as Rashid
Laura Gómez as Laura
James Waterston as Mark
Lee Sellars as Chef
Spenser Granese as Max
Julia Haltigan as Trisha
Production
In April 2022, it was announced Rooney Mara had joined the cast of the film, with Alonso Ruizpalacios directing from a screenplay he wrote.[6]

Principal photography took place in Mexico City.[7]

Release
It had its world premiere in Competition at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival on February 16, 2024.[8][3] In August 2024, it was announced Willa would distribute the film in the United States on October 25, 2024.[9]

Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 77% of 14 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.2/10.[10]

Robert Daniels of RogerEbert.com called the film, "a monumental work of righteous anger" and that "aims at the grinding, chewing machinery of not only the American dream but the remnant of the failed egalitarian promise of the industrial commerce.[11]" The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney wrote, "There’s a surging life force felt in every scene of Alonso Ruizpalacios’ superbly acted La Cocina — at times ebullient but more often on edge, if not careening dangerously toward disaster or violence.[12]" Indiewire's David Ehrlich gave the film a B, writing, "The more that “La Cocina” alternates between operatic long-takes and grease-stained close-ups, the more you can feel its characters fighting to retain their souls in the face of a parable that’s eager to cast them as collateral damage.[13]" In a more critical review, Screen International's Lee Marshall wrote, "This constant striving for symbolic import sums up the issues of a maximalist drama that is full of drive, ideas and ambition, but charts no satisfying dramatic arc, and too often feels simply strident.[14]"

Accolades
The film was selected in Competition at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, thus it was nominated to compete for Golden Bear award.

Award Date Category Recipient Result Ref.
Berlin International Film Festival February 25, 2024 Golden Bear Alonso Ruizpalacios Nominated [15]
References
"Juan Pablo Ramirez". Juan Pablo Ramirez. Retrieved January 22, 2024.
"La Cocina". Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
"La Cocina". Berlinale. Archived from the original on February 16, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
Ehrlich, David (February 16, 2024). "'La Cocina' Review: Rooney Mara and Raúl Briones Spice Up a Furious Drama Set in the Kitchen of a Times Square Tourist Trap". Indiewire. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
Wiseman, Andreas (January 23, 2024). "HanWay Boards Rooney Mara Berlin Competition Title 'La Cocina'; Fifth Season & WME Rep North America — EFM". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
Raup, Jordan (April 22, 2022). "Rooney Mara to Lead Alonso Ruizpalacios' New Film La Cocina". The Film Stage. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
Booth, Ned (April 25, 2022). "Rooney Mara To Star In Alonso Ruizpalacios' New NYC Kitchen Movie 'La Cocina'". The Playlist. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
Vivarelli, Nick; Shafer, Ellise (January 22, 2024). "Berlin Film Festival Unveils Full Lineup: 'La Cocina' Starring Rooney Mara, 'Another End' With Gael García Bernal Among Competition Titles". Variety. Retrieved January 23, 2024.
Horst, Carole (August 26, 2024). "Distributor Willa Sets October Release for Berlin Festival Hit 'La Cocina' Starring Rooney Mara". Variety. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
"La Cocina | Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
"Berlin Film Festival 2024: Meanwhile on Earth, La Cocina, Another End | Festivals & Awards | Roger Ebert". www.rogerebert.com. February 19, 2024. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
Rooney, David (February 16, 2024). "'La Cocina' Review: Rooney Mara in Explosive Account of Immigrant Restaurant Workers Chasing the American Dream". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
Ehrlich, David (February 16, 2024). "'La Cocina' Review: Rooney Mara and Raúl Briones Spice Up a Furious Drama Set in the Kitchen of a Times Square Tourist Trap". IndieWire. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
Marshall2024-02-16T21:15:00+00:00, Lee. "'La Cocina': Berlin Review". Screen. Retrieved February 22, 2024.
Rosser, Michael (January 22, 2024). "Berlin film festival reveals 2024 competition line-up". ScreenDaily. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
External links
La cocina at IMDb
vte
Films directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios
Güeros (2014)Museum (2018)A Cop Movie (2021)La cocina (2024)
Categories: 2024 films2024 drama filmsAmerican drama filmsMexican drama films2020s Spanish-language films2020s English-language filmsEnglish-language Mexican filmsFilms set in restaurants2020s American films2020s Mexican films